The Son of Neptune
by Zuria Maylin
Summary: Annabeth is missing, Leo has a thing for Drew, Rachel is considering quitting the Oracle, and Piper and Jason are breaking up. But when Percy and Reyna show up on the scene, the whole camp is thrown into confusion! T just in case
1. Annabeth Thinks Leo is Hot

Okay, so maybe dating Percy was a sure way of getting my heart broken.

My name: Annabeth Chase. My parent: Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle. My predicament: complicated.

My boyfriend Percy had gone missing, long story short.

But good thing—we were going to get him back.

Jason, Leo, Piper, Nyssa and I.

Now, I may have faithfulness issues, because I found myself staring at Leo a lot while we were building his boat, _Argo II_. He's cute. He's intelligent. He has a decent sense of humor. He's not Luke.

Luke was cool—I actually did wonder what if sometimes—but he was dead. I mean, can you date a ghost?

But Leo…this guy had stood up to a god—Luke had never been able to do that. He had also used money—Luke had never done that, I'm sure. (Son of the god of thieves, coming through—ma'am, you might want to watch your purse.)

I was pretty sure the way to get to him was through Piper.

NO! I am Percy's girlfriend, Percy is my boyfriend. Oh, my gosh. Like I mentioned, I have issues. SO HELP ME I AM A PART OF PERCABETH!

But Jason came from where Percy was right now, the Roman camp, and he had said that there were several pretty girls there—including Reyna, daughter of Venus. We still had no idea if she was a charmspeaker or not, which would be a problem for Piper.

Maybe Percy had fallen in love with another girl?

Maybe Percy didn't love me anymore?

Maybe…maybe…

I hope Hera left him with enough sense to save him.

I knew Percy was going to be torn from me when Luke became Kronos. Then again when Nico relayed to me every bit of detail from the ghost of Beckendorf, mainly about kissing that annoying Rachel Dare. But this was worse than everything—combined.

I decided that I was just going to let go of Percy.

When things got dangerous, he would run.

And I was _not_ going to date a coward.

So I decided Leo was my best option.

And so I went up to him that night, while he was in Bunker Nine, alone, talking to the dragon head that he had salvaged from his large bronze dragon he had called Festus. He had revived it and could talk to it, but I knew little else.

I stood by the door, not wanting to disturb him.

"Yeah, I know, Festus," he said. "I'll put you up on the mast myself."

The dragon head roared.

"Sorry buddy," Leo said. "I've never forgiven myself for leading you into a death trap. I'm so sorry. Lasers." He cursed in ancient Greek. "I'm so stupid."

"No you're not," I said, revealing my presence.

Leo took a large hammer out of his toolbelt and hurled it at my head.

I ducked. "Dude…just wanted to say hi." Cute, smart, funny, _and_ violent. Does this guy not have shortcomings?

"Sorry," he said. "I just found out my last foster parents were looking for me and I really want to stay here, instead."

"Must suck, moving from place to place."

"Not really," he said. "You get used to it. Mierda santa!" he screamed. His hands had caught fire.

I guess I should explain. Leo Valdez was a fire user. The first since 1666. I guess that's another reason why I thought he was hot. (Lame pun, I know.)

"You're so cute when you cuss in Spanish," I blurted. I don't know where that came from. It's like my mouth had a voice of it's own.

He smiled his crooked smile at me. "You think so?" he asked.

Too late to back away now. "Yeah," I said. "Like, no one but you knows what you said, so you can totally insult someone and they're like, 'Hey, you're my best friend, too!'"

Leo cracked up. "El petimetre, me quiere usted? Porque pienso que es raro. No, yo no le quiero realmente porque trató de matar Jason la primera vez usted lo vio y Jason es mi amigo y yo soy tan en amor con Drew."

"What the heck did you just say?" I asked. I am really good with languages, but I couldn't get my mind around Spanish. People who could just fascinated me to no end. I guess that was why I liked Leo.

"Oh, basically I just said I hate Drew. I like you."

I couldn't believe my ears. "Really? I like you too."

"I thought your boyfriend was Percy." He seemed genuinely confused.

"No. I gave up on Percy. He runs away when he's scared and I don't do cowards." I think that might have come out wrong. Leo had run away from several foster homes before this. "I mean, he runs away from stuff like stupid dog demons and stupid death demons."

"Well, I can understand the second one," he admitted. "But dog demons? Mierda santa! It's a dog!" He pretended to be freaked out and ran around the bunker, screaming.

It was my turn to crack up.

"You realize that when you don't look like you have grey eyes," he said, stopping in his tracks, "you actually look normal."

That was something I couldn't tolerate, even from Leo. "I have worked my whole life to look normal, and you're saying that the one thing I can't change is the one thing that sets me apart?"

"Sorry," Leo said, but he didn't sound like he meant it.

"No, Leo," I said, my feelings just as conflicted as they were before I went in here. "I know you didn't mean it. Maybe it's best if we just forget this ever happened."

Leo nodded—much too enthusiastically for someone who supposedly liked me. I decided to let it go.

"Later, Leo."

"See you around, Annabeth."

I left the bunker, listening to elated whoops while he danced around Bunker Nine. Wait…he was happy to let me go? This guy was more messed up than I thought.

_But whatever_, I thought, as I went back toward cabin six. _You're Percy's girlfriend. Percy's your boyfriend. Let it go. It's not like there was any potential._

And those were my last thoughts before a pain in the back of my head left the world black.


	2. Leo Gives Drew Some Flowers

I hope you liked my first bit of story. It was kind of funny. I enjoyed writing it. Here is Leo's POV.

So after Annabeth left, I felt kind of bad. I had used her idea of insulting someone in Spanish and telling them the opposite in English, which I had basically done to her.

But then I quickly started daydreaming about Drew.

Drew McHenry…she was perfect. Intense eyes, great style, and every time I told a joke, she would look at me like I was crazy (which I'm pretty sure I was.)

Drew McHenry was my kind of girl.

The only problem—she wouldn't look at me. I tried fire tricks, which I have to say were pretty impressive—except to her.

I sigh. Drew is the best thing that has happened to me since I came to Camp Half-Blood, but I can't help feeling like I'm losing her.

Oh, Drew…I wish I could do something to get her.

I go out into the woods and pick a few flowers. Girls like flowers, right? So I walk up to cabin ten.

What am I thinking? She hates me. I need a cheap romance novella thing—I'm pretty sure she'd go for that—um…secret admirer. She'd love it!

So I go back to cabin nine, my cabin, and I go down into the Leo Cave below the cabin.

I get out a piece of notebook paper.

I crumple it up and throw it away.

I get out a piece of drawing paper—there's lots of that around here—one with no lines. I start to write in my best handwriting.

_My dearest Drew,_

_I love you so much it hurts. Are you from Tennessee? Because you are the only "ten" I see! Are you going to be a female astronaut? Because you are really out of this world!_

Off to a good start. Flattery. What girl could resist?

_If I could rewrite the alphabet, I would put "u" and "i" together! What do you say to that?_

_Love,_

_Your Secret Admirer._

I take a piece of string—no, put that away. Aha! Ribbon! I take the ribbon and tie my note to the flowers. I look at it in triumph.

Now hopefully my hand doesn't go up in flames.

I walk over to cabin ten, place the package on the porch, knock, and run away to hide in the bushes.

And the person picking up the flowers is—Drew McHenry! She takes it inside!

Success! I only hope that she's read it by dinner, which should be in five minutes. I hope she's talking about it and trying to figure it out.

I hope that I can keep this up, keep giving her gifts, and figure out how to stay hidden until her birthday, when I am going to surprise her and tell her that I am her secret admirer.

I have visions of her reaction. She is so happy, she says, "I knew it was you!" and runs into my arms. I spin her around and we kiss.

Kissing Drew. I wonder if that's any different than kissing anybody else.

It must be. She's Drew. Drew McHenry. Of course it would be different!

I wonder if she's a good kisser.

Oh no.

What if she isn't?

What if she isn't happy when I tell her?

What if she decides she hated all the gifts all along?

What if…what if…

What if she hates me even more for crashing her birthday?

I sigh. Oh well. Too late to do anything now. This could be the best choice I've ever made, or it could backfire on me. Hey, kind of like Hera's decision to switch Percy and Jason. I really don't know what I'd do if I get rejected by Drew. Probably mope around like some lovesick fool and forget to be Leo.

I am Leo. I was named after the lion. I am Leo. I am brave. I am Leo. (And did I mention that I am Leo?)

This is when Leo Valdez starts to doubt himself _and_ his namesake.

AHHHH! Since when have I talked to myself in the third person!

I have issues.

I really hope Annabeth doesn't come along. I really hope she doesn't. She was kind of freaking me out at the Grand Canyon, and even more so in the bunker.

I really hope Annabeth doesn't use my own weapon against me. You know, the secret admirer thing?

This is already backfiring. Maybe I've started a chain reaction. Drew's going to give anonymous stuff to her crush, and he's going to give it to his girl, and she's going to pass it along and soon the whole camp will be the secret admirer of everybody else. Oh, well. I guess I'm going to have to deal with the consequences. I started it after all.

I sigh some more as I head to the dinner pavilion.


	3. Drew's Building and Kissing Skills

I'm glad you guys are reviewing it. My other fic, An Impossible Task, is feeling awfully neglected. If you could R&R, that would be great!

**But now, Drew's POV**

I usually get secret admirer notes. But this one is weird.

It's scorched.

I know immediately it was Leo, especially when I read the really dorky note. But Lacy had been giving me tips, and I decide to give him a chance, maybe act surprise if he reveals it to me.

I sigh. Ever since Piper took over, guys have been looking at her, not me. But I suppose Leo is better than no one.

He's even kind of funny, I just pretend not to notice.

I pretend I'm better than him.

But I know better. I'm no better than that spider on the floor.

Spider?

I scream and jump up on the bed.

Piper comes running. "What is it?" she asks.

"SPIDER!" I yell.

Piper picks it up ever so calmly and tosses it outside.

"It's gone now," she says. And then her eyes fall on the bouquet of flowers. "Who are those from," she asks.

"Leo," I say. "Oops, I mean secret admirer. Forget I said that. I want to give him a chance."

Piper smiles. "You've improved. I'm guessing being out of power has done you a world of good."

I hope not. I still want to be in charge. I guess maybe this was for the best. Maybe the gods sent Piper here for a reason, something beyond Gaea.

She laughs. "We'll be late for dinner again."

I smile, cracking a joke. "Since when have we had this talent for missing meals?"

She laughs again.

"Let's go."

And we leave. We sit next to each other, as friends, and I can feel Leo's eyes on the back of my neck. I'm almost going to get up and tell him I can see right through him when dinner is over.

I flashed him a smile, leaving to go work on _Argo II_. I'm busy nailing different boards together to make the hull. Leo walks over to me.

"Hey, Drew," he says. If I hadn't already figured out it was him, I would now.

"Hey," I say.

"I wondered if…"

Can I believe my ears? Is he asking me on a date?

"If…you would go on this quest with us?"

My heart skips a beat. Okay, so it isn't exactly a _date._ But it's my first quest! I can't exactly say no, that would break his heart.

"Sure," I say.

His incredibly cute eyes light up—and so does his hair.

I snort with laughter. What is wrong with me? I _never_ snort!

Then Leo reaches for my hand. I lift my hammer and turn back to the boat, ready to hammer a nail into place. It goes in crooked.

"Um, Leo," I say. He's still there. "How do you take out a nail?"

He takes my hand and he guides my hand through the steps. I knew perfectly well how to do it, but I just wanted to get an excuse to have some contact with him. He takes his hand away from mine. My daydreams of us together shatter. I want to scream _Please hold my hand again!_ But I know that would just turn him off.

I hammer some more nails, and Leo keeps staring at me. "What?" I demand.

"Nothing," he says, too quickly. He walks away, his hands in the pockets of his empty tool belt. At least I think it's empty until he pulls out a hammer and some nails and takes the place next to me. The spot next to me has been vacant ever since Mitchell was goofing off and broke his thumb with a hammer.

I lift the hammer again, then I drop it and cry out. My whole hand is covered in blisters.

"Let me see that," Leo says, and takes my hand again. "I know how to heal it." He takes some nectar and pours it over my hand. He bandages it. "Now to distract you from the pain," he says, and I have a small feeling of what's going to happen next. He takes me in his arms and kisses me. Small and soft, on the lips.

And all I can think is…

How amazing it is.


	4. Percy Wakes Up In A Classroom

I really don't want to block anonymous posts, but if I get anymore, "this isn't a very good story" I might. Good thing this one came with a very good reason. I can't name names, you know who you are (it also helps that you gave me an anonymous review). But if you give me flames, give me a reason you're giving me flames.

**One reason why I have such good Spanish in chapter one was because I had an online translator. I am SOOO not bilingual. Hate to break it to you.**

**Oh, in this chapter, I would prefer it if your reviews tell me who you think Morgan and Clark are the children of…(I'm sorry if I made it obvious)**

**But without further ado, we finally have a bit of PERCY!**

I wake up and have no idea who I am.

There's a girl next to me, and a boy on my other side. I'm in a classroom, and a teacher is lecturing the class. I'm not the only one who was asleep, though. I'm thankful for that.

I look over to the girl and she flashes me a smile. She writes something on a piece of paper.

I look at it and I read, "m'I os dlag ew rea ferinsd."

I take it I'm dyslexic.

The girl is a redhead, and she has electric blue eyes. I've seen eyes like this before. I can't remember where, though…

And suddenly I get a vision of a girl with black hair, short and spiky, with a silver circlet, and the same eyes.

Just as suddenly as it comes, the vision goes. I look over at the boy. He has an upturned nose, black hair, and a mischievous grin. I know I've sent he same smile somewhere before.

And suddenly I'm getting in a sleeping bag, only to find it full of shaving cream—I look through the window, and a boy with blond hair is laughing very hard. I'm steamed.

And then I'm back in the classroom.

The girl taps my arm. "Are you okay?" she whispers.

I nod, knowing I'm lying. "Tell you later," I say.

The boy leans over next to me. "Hey, want to see something hilarious?" he pauses, but not for long enough to let me get a word through. "Watch." He raises his hand.

The teacher stops. "Er…Mr. Peterson?"

The boy puts his hand down. "I was wondering if you could sit down for a moment. You look tired."

The teacher looks weary, but he also looks wary.

"I didn't put a tack on your stool," the boy promises. "And I didn't steal all your pens. And I didn't steal your chair. And I didn't steal your wife's purse. Oops, you weren't supposed to know I did that."

The class laughs halfheartedly. But they watch as the teacher sinks cautiously into his chair, his eyes on the boy. "There, are you happy?" the teacher asks, angrily. Then he tries to get up.

Key word: tries.

He can't.

He is stuck to the chair.

In spite of myself, I find myself laughing along with the rest of the class, the boy who set the trap laughing harder than all of them.

The only two people not laughing are the teacher (being the victim) and the girl next to me.

"Clark Peterson!" she yells. "What do you think you're doing?"

The boy called Clark cowers in front of her. "Just having some fun," he replies.

"Look," I say, defending Clark. "He was bored. He was trying to stay awake."

The girl glares at me. "Thank you for answering his question," she says poisonously, like she'd rather electrocute me than talk evilly to me.

I think I've gotten that quite a few times. From who, I don't know.

The bell rings and we all leave the classroom.

The cafeteria is nice. If only I could enjoy the food _without_ the girl glaring at me from the other side of the room.

"Dude," says Clark. "Leave her alone. Don't stare. She doesn't like staring. Trust me," he leans in, "I've tried."

"Who is she?" I ask.

Clark is mildly surprised. "Who is she? She's your best friend! Well, other than me, of course."

"What's her name?" I ask.

"Like I'd tell you," Clark says. "Guess."

I look at her. I think she looks like a…Rachel. Where did I come up with that?

"Rachel?" I guess.

"Pretty good, buddy," Clark says. "Rachel Ursula Demi-Elsin."

"That's her name?" I ask. "Demi-Elsin?"

"Yeah," Clark says. "Her initials spell 'R-U-D-E'."

I try to spell out what he just said in my mind, but all I get is a pile of gibberish. "I can NOT spell," I say.

"Her initials spell rude," Clark repeats. "If you ask me, it's quite applicable."

"Oh," I say. Mental note: Don't try to get on her bad side.

"So you said you'd tell Rachel something later. What was it?" Clark seems so innocent with his smile right now. But I shake myself. This guy is going to tell everything I say to the entire school—twisted, most likely.

"Um," I say. "I should probably tell her."

"No, I'll tell her for you," Clark says. "She won't appreciate your company."

"And what makes you think that you'll be any more appreciated than me?" I ask. I've nailed him. I didn't think I was that smart. _Although maybe that's just what Annabeth wants me to think, _I think. Wait, who's Annabeth? I forget it.

"Touché," he says. "Let's go together."

"Now?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says. He gets up and walks over to her.

I sigh and follow. This is going to be a long conversation.


	5. Rachel and Rex, Sitting in a Tree

I am so sorry that I messed up the names of my own characters in the last chapter. Rachel is not Morgan. I changed them halfway through. So sorry for the confusion. I'm pretty sure I made their parents pretty obvious (if you think about eye color in Rachel's case, and facial features in the boy's case). If you can't think of the boy, reread the part about Luke's facial features in _The Lightning Thief_. Not the scar, sorry.

I hope you guys have noticed I'm doing all of this in the present tense! I'm trying to make this unique.

But without further ado, here goes with Rachel's POV (Rachel Dare).

Percy is missing. Annabeth is trying to date other guys. Piper and Jason are breaking up (oh, you didn't hear?). Leo and Drew are together (talk about unexpected). Oh, yeah, and I think I just found Luke alive again.

See, our friend Luke, he died, went to Elysium, and decided to be reborn. I don't think he's a demigod anymore, so I better be sure to introduce him to all of this—I kind of want this guy to achieve the Isles of the Blest.

Clarion Ladies' Academy is right next to a boy's finishing school (the George Home for Bad Boys) and sometimes we get together for dance classes that my dad has me taking ("Oh, it'll improve hand-eye coordination. Rachel, you should really go for it!"). And I swear, Rex Raymond is Luke Castellan born again.

Rex—reasonably tall, fit, wears short sleeved shirts all the time so you can see that this guy is ripped, sexy, and absolutely the only guy for me.

I'm seriously considering quitting the Oracle just to be with him.

But then Percy would tempt me and Annabeth would hate me and that would be bad because I want to be one of Annabeth's friends. Yes, I have no chance of being her best friend because I kissed her boyfriend, but still…

That's when Piper comes into my cave.

She's fuming. I think she just came from another fight with Jason. Poor girl. "What's up?" I ask, even though I know.

"Jason's so full of himself." She's muttering curses under her breath, I can interpret a few of them—my dad has insisted on getting me into ancient Greek (not that I complained)—but not many.

"What went wrong this time?" I ask.

"Who cares?" she asks angrily. "Not him, anyway. No, he won't listen to me, he's too busy talking to Thalia on the phone, planning how to get Reyna back. I hear him when he thinks I'm not listening."

"Thalia is pretty cool, actually." I regret saying that instantly, because Piper blows up at me.

"Thalia may be cool, but that is no excuse for Jason to ignore me!" Piper is losing her ability to charmspeak, and that's bad because she's supposed to stop the fated seven demigods from killing each other when they first meet.

"Look," I say. "Calm down. It's okay. You'll get him back. You did when you thought he was your boyfriend but wasn't." I realize too late that I shouldn't have said that, so I add quickly, "Hey, look, Annabeth said she wants to talk to you about something." Not entirely a lie—Annabeth did say something about Percy still loving her and said she'd like to talk to one of the daughters of Aphrodite about it.

"All right," Piper sighs. And she leaves.

And I'm left alone, daydreaming about Rex Raymond.

His blond hair, his blue eyes…I understand why Annabeth liked him. But now he's mine, so she can just back off.

I want to talk to Rex so badly, but I know there are no phones here, and I don't even know his number, and it would be kind of weird—the maiden Oracle calling her crush? Doesn't that seem a little topsy turvy to you?

I sigh. I wonder when I can leave this stupid camp—the only good part was Percy, really, and now he's missing—and go back to where I can see Rex again. I love him so much.

I look down into the woods and see Drew and Leo playing tag, then they stop and start making out.

I begin imagining myself in her place, Rex as Leo.


	6. Three Types of Demigods?

Anonymous reviewer "Sammy" has posted that he will review for every chapter I write. Please let that hold true. And could SOMEONE PLEASE turn to my other fanfic—An Impossible Task, under Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

One thing I learned during the research of this chapter was that the Romans were nutcases. If you look at some of their gods and their job descriptions…

This chapter might come with some protests, but I'm prepared to take that risk.

But here is Annabeth's POV

I wake up and I'm on some sort of mountain.

There are people all around me. I wonder if their half bloods.

One of them comes up to me.

"I'm sorry about this," she says. Her hair is blond, like mine, and her eyes are blue, a dull blue. "I asked them not to, but…" She spread her hands helplessly.

"Could you get me out of here?" I ask.

She shakes her head.

"Well, then who are you?" I ask.

"Oh, I'm Megan, daughter of Forseti."

"What god is that?" I ask. I've searched through thousands of gods, and I've never heard of Forseti.

"God of peace and justice. And truth."

I'm very confused. As far as I know, that should be **Dikaiosyne**, who's actually a spirit, not a god.

"Um…sorry?" I say.

"You've never heard of the gods?"

"Yeah, I've heard of them—the Greek gods and the Roman gods, but Forseti isn't one of either."

"Not many people know of the Norse gods."

This is new. "Norse gods?"

"Yeah. We are the children of Asgard."

"Asgard is…" It isn't very often that I'm asking this many questions about something I don't know.

"The equivalent of Olympus."

"Olympus…" I can't believe it. There are more types of demigods. Not only are there Roman and Greek, there are Norse.

"Wow." I say. I'm at a loss for words.

"Here, I'll go ask Ai and Edda to let you go."

"Ai and Edda?" I ask, but Megan has already run away.

It isn't long before I pass out again. The knot on my head is throbbing.

I see Percy in my dreams. He's tall, black haired, green eyed, hot as ever. Seeing him makes my heart throb. I feel very guilty about flirting with Leo.

Percy is entering the Roman camp with two others.

There is some commotion among the campers. Before long a small crowd is gathered where Percy is.

Percy stops and a girl with black hair and eyes steps forward.

"Who are you?" she asks curiously.

The boy next to him speaks up. "Hey…um…I'm Clark Robertson. This is Rachel Demi-Elsin." There is some snickering, most coming from me. "And this is Percy…um…"

"Percy Um," says the girl who spoke. "I'm Reyna Morgana, daughter of Cloacina, goddess of, well, sewers.

The girl Clark called Rachel (much to my annoyance) says, "How do we know we can trust you? And the goddess stuff—you're crazy!"

"Am I?" Reyna asks. "I'd guess you are the daughter of Glycon. He's known to be spiteful. God of snakes."

"I am NOT the daughter of any crazy Glycon, Cloacina, or whatever! Ego sum northmanni!"

She yells the last part in Latin, which I have sense to know is "I am normal!" Have you heard of irony?

And then the kids are claimed—all but Percy.

There is a snake over Rachel's head and a caduceus over Clark's.

"I was right," Reyna says. "Glycon and Mercury. But who are you?" she adds, turning to Percy.

Percy lifts his hand in reply. I smile. He's going to tell them—Percy style.

A roar of water and Reyna is doused.

"Son of Neptune," she gasps. "Michael," she says, dripping, "take Percy to the tent."

A boy who looks exactly like Percy walks up and leads Percy off. Wait—Percy has a brother? I'm confused. And then I'm woken by Megan, the Norse demigod, coming back and cutting the ropes that hold me.


	7. Argo II is Finished

Sorry I haven't been exactly posting these past two weeks, but don't blame my parents for dragging me on a stupid road trip with no computer access.

Annoyed at my parents. Hmm, good idea for a story. Anyway, I have a new story that I was working on my whole trip, and I decided that I'm going to combine it with this one!

YAY!

Thank you to AthenaKidd! She helped with the guy they sent to the Roman camp's new name (his old name was Clark, so I had to change it).

Oh, yeah, anonymous reviewer Sammy—you have yet to review my latest chapters!

Oh, I had this weird dream that everyone was talking about _The Lost Hero_, but everybody was putting the letter e before everything, like Ejason so totally likes Epiper. And Efestus was fixed by Eleo. BIZARREST DREAM I'VE EVER HAD!

So now, without further ado, LEO'S POV!

I didn't know Drew could kiss that well. She's so beautiful, she doesn't have to try.

I remember when Piper told me that Drew was a no good, stuck up—

She didn't finish the sentence.

I didn't let her.

I get up early, maybe five, five thirty-ish. No idea.

I wake the whole cabin up so we can go get an early start on _Argo II_. They don't appreciate that.

So now you know why I have a scar on my cheek that looks suspiciously like Nyssa scratched it with her talons—I mean nails.

The rest of them start working, and I go check on Festus in Bunker Nine. I usually do that. Hmm, maybe I can check my email while I'm at it. No, that would take too much time.

So I go into Bunker Nine, right?

What do you think I see standing right in front of me.

I bet you can't guess.

Guess.

Guess.

Guess.

See, I can get on your nerves.

It's Chiron.

Yes, I have a centaur in Bunker Nine…again. You think he'd get tired of that place.

But I see the look on his face and I know he has something he wants to tell me.

"Leo," he says, turning to me. "Leo?"

"Yeah, Chiron?" I say. I wonder what he's about to tell me.

"I…I have to talk to you."

My eyebrow goes up. Way to state the obvious, Chiron. "So…?"

"A quest."

"Sure, Chiron, I'd be glad to go—"

"No," he says, confusing me. "Not you. There has been a quest for several years now."

"Why are you telling me?" I ask.

"Because you are almost done with _Argo II_." That's true. I wonder what Chiron's on about.

He sighs. "We sent out some Greek demigods to the Roman camp two years ago."

What?

"They are there to see that Percy is safe there," he says. "If you could bring back the other four Romans (to make the seven, you know?) and along with them bring Kathryn Hart, Alex Daniels, and Annika Kent."

"Okay," I say. "Sure, Chiron."

I walk out, leaving Chiron and quite a bit of ignorance behind.

And then I go out to see how _Argo II_ is coming along. It's almost finished. Nyssa, Jake, and Harley are busy pounding together the hull—the very front, the last part. I look up at the masts that were finished a week ago. I imagine it with Festus's head on it.

"Hey, Leo!" calls Harley. He's ten years old, but you could mistake him for my age, fifteen. "A little help?"

I pull a hammer out of my magic toolbelt and I help out. By the time everyone else is awake and over eating breakfast, we're finished.

I say the speech I've been saving since we began this monumental project. "Well done, guys. I'll admit we rushed it, we weren't supposed to be done until six months from today, but it looks great and sturdy. I know we won't have time for a test run, but…well…you guys did great. Thanks. Thanks a lot. Now, who wants to go down to breakfast? You've earned it."

All the hands in the crowd went up. When you've been awake from five to nine without eating, your stomach starts to growl as if it'll eat everything in sight. Not that your stomach has eyes…

And when we get to the dining pavilion, we make our announcement that the masthead ceremony will take place before lunch and then we'll FEAST! I grin as everyone applauds us, especially Piper and Jason, but then I notice that someone, someone important, is missing.

Where is Annabeth?


	8. Drew Hates and Loves

Thank you to AthenaKidd and AgentDoubleOGrace for making my school day a LOT more fun than school should ever be. But you guys seriously need to get my other story, _The Fight of Our Lives_ read and reviewed. It is severely entwined with this story.

Also thank you to AthenaKidd for saving me from the animals of WRITER'S BLOCK!

Here is Drew's POV

When I notice Leo looking over at the Athena table, my heart breaks.

I mean, it shouldn't, but it does just the same. Is he looking at someone?

I can't shake the feeling.

After dinner we have free time. I go into cabin nine.

"Hey, Leo?" I say, trying to ignore the weird looks I'm getting from everyone else. "Can I talk to you?"

"Isn't that what we're doing?" he asks.

"Um," I say. "I mean…can I talk to you _alone?_"

He looks around. I'm afraid he's going to say no. "Sure. Anything, Drew." He gestures for me to sit next to him on his bed. I sit, remembering coming in to talk to Silena and seeing her here with Beckendorf. Not that they were doing anything other than making out. He pushes a button and the bed flips back.

I feel us go upside down and into a cave of some kind.

"Where are we?" I ask. My voice echoes.

"This is the Leo-cave," he says. "Gemma, lights on!"

The lights flicker on. "Who's Gemma?" I ask.

"Gemma, say hi," says Leo.

An automated voice comes from above. "Hel-lo, Drew."

It knows my name. What could be creepier?

"What did you want to talk to me about?" he asks.

I turn and look at him. He looks at home here. Of course he does. He's the son of the stinking god of blacksmiths. This place is nothing but a huge workshop.

"I…" I don't know if I can say it. "I saw you looking at the Athena table. Why?"

"I was wondering about something," he says. "I wanted to see if everyone was there."

"Were they?" I don't want to know the answer.

He shakes his head.

"Who was missing?" I ask, alarmed.

"Annabeth."

_Annabeth?_

"There is no way Annabeth's missing," I say.

"I don't know where she went," Leo says.

Tears start to come to my eyes. Annabeth was the one and only who could help us with Percy. She would know him when she saw him. The rest of us…hopeless. We'd see any green-eyed, black-haired boy and take him back, despite the fact he wasn't Percy. A single tear splashes on the ground.

Leo takes me in his arms. I feel secure, as if this is my home. I'm not ashamed to keep back my tears, so when we break apart, Leo's shoulder is soaked.

I pull away. I wipe my eyes. "I'm sorry." I don't know why I'm whispering. "I mean…without Annabeth…the quest is hopeless. We won't know who Percy is without her…"

Leo takes my hands and looks into my eyes. "We'll be able to find him. With or without Annabeth."

I smile a little. "That's what I like about you."

"What?" he asks.

I lean in for a kiss. "You're a bit of an optimist. Always. And you know how to make others the same."

And then we were kissing.

So many emotions went into that kiss.

Anger—_How can he kiss me when Annabeth's missing!_

Love—_I really like this guy._

Hopelessness—_We're never going to find Annabeth doing this!_

Indifference—_So?_

But it was okay.

All right, the most amazing, incredible, unbelievable, magical, wonderful…

Not the first kiss I'd ever had. But the best. By far. Because it was shared with someone I couldn't bring myself to break.

There goes the rite of passage out the window.

But who cares?


	9. Percy Learns the Rules

Thank you to AthenaKidd and AgentDoubleOGrace. Though they live in states far, far away (okay, not _that_ far), they have become my newest best friends! At 9:30 at night! When does that happen?

I hope you liked the last chapter, I spent LOTS of time with it.

Sammy, you have yet to review the other chapters. Get with the times.

But ANYWAY…

Here's Percy's POV:

I didn't know what I was doing. When I drenched Reyna, I didn't know how I did it.

But Michael takes me up to this tent. It's tiny. I don't see how one person can live there, much less two.

When I go in, he surprises me. The place inside is HUGE. It's like a resort, with an indoor pool and all. And it's a big and inviting indoor pool.

Michael flops down on the sofa and turns on the TV. Cartoon Network pops on. "Welcome to Tent 3," he says. He has a bit of an accent. British, maybe? "Make yourself at home."

I change and take a cannonball in the pool. I can think here. I float to the bottom, and I think I have _some_ memories…

I see a woman being lifted up by a horned beast. She disappears in a shower of gold.

I see a blond girl swimming away from me. She's so beautiful. I don't know who she is, but she's swimming into a war zone. She passes by a mine. I jump into the water—

And then I'm watching the stars with a girl with black hair and bright blue eyes. She looks at me and says, "I wonder what's wrong with him…" I nod.

Next I'm sitting on a mountaintop with the same girl who was swimming away. She looks at me and says, "Be careful, Seaweed Brain." And then she kisses me.

And then I'm watching her lie in a bed. She has a bandage wrapped around her shoulder and she looks like she's in pain. I want to reach out to her, to help her, but I can't. My emotions are a jumbled up mess. "I owe you one," I say.

And then Michael jumps in. I float to the surface, as does he.

"So…" he says. "You weren't claimed."

"Is that a bad thing?" I ask.

"Not necessarily…" he says. "But you're definitely a son of Neptune."

"Neptune?" I ask. "Don't you mean Poseidon?"

He shrugs. "Neptune, Poseidon, same difference, really."

I have the feeling he's wrong. Poseidon is different than Neptune. I know it in my bones. But why don't I know anything else?

Then another guy walks in. He has blond hair, wavy and long enough to tell. He introduces himself as Max, and has the same stupid accent as Michael.

"So what are you boys doing?"

"Talkin'" says Michael.

"Is that illegal?" I ask.

And then it finally appears that Max has seen me. "Good gods who are you!"

"I'm Percy," I say. "I don't know what my last name is. I just got here."

Michael looks at Max pointedly and says, "He wasn't claimed."

Max gets paler than I would ever believe. "You…you're kidding!"

"No," says Michael.

"I gotta get Reyna over here…"

"Reyna heard."

Max looks up, surprised. "She did?"

"She's the one who found out it he was a son of Neptune."

"What's this all about?" I ask. I don't like being left in the dark.

Max gestures for me to get out of the pool. I do. "Look," he says. "Two years ago, Reyna, Jason, and I got a prophecy. Jason went missing last year. So the thing is…"

"Well?" I ask. "What was the prophecy?"

Max clears his throat:

"_Three children of Greece and three children of Rome_

_Shall meet one day soon and no blood shall be shown._

_The seeds will be planted for peace between the two,_

_But still they shall wait for the son of Neptune."_ (A/N: Don't we all?)

"Wait…" I wonder. "You think _I'm_ this son of Neptune?"

"Yeah," says Max. "I mean, who else could it be?"

I gesture at Michael and Max. "You're one to talk!"

"We were already here when that prophecy was issued!" Max begins to yell. "If we're supposed to wait for _ourselves_, well, that doesn't make sense, does it?"

"I…" I can't get past that. He's nailed me. "Good point."

"Now," says Max. "I think you need to learn the rules around here."

And rule number one: Never question Max.

So I hope you like it!

This was the fifth prophecy I considered, so you better like that.

This writer lives off of reviews, so leave a review and save a starving author!


	10. Rachel Unnoficially Resigns

And this is the third chapter I have written today! Wow! I can't believe I write this fast.

But anyway…

Rachel's POV

I'm doodling on my pants again. My dad hates it when I do that. I'm drawing Rex's face. I wonder why he is as old as I am and yet is Luke's reborn body. And then I get an idea. Luke was too lazy to just find someone new—he just went to the nearest person after leaving the Underworld—which happened to be Rex.

I know quite a bit about Rex.

He has a younger sister. Her name is Mia. Mia Raymond. She goes to Clarion Ladies' Academy and she's 13—just entered Clarion for seventh grade. I've kind of taken her under my wing, trying to get her some popularity (like she needed it, but still), and we've become pretty much best friends.

I don't know where they live, probably all over, like me.

I wish I can bring Rex here.

A shout rings out across the valley. I start to run down the steps to Half-Blood Hill.

I run and run and run…and start slowing down and down and down…and wouldn't you know it. Being the Oracle does _not_ protect against weariness. By the time I get to Half-Blood Hill, there's a battle going on, and I am hopelessly out of breath.

I see Drew, Clarisse, Piper, Drew, Leo, and Jason. They're fighting some sort of big bull man…the Minotaur! There are some people on the other side of him, but who they are, I can't tell.

Drew starts yelling something to me. I can't understand her. I stand there like an idiot…until Clarisse tells me to get my ass moving before she gets help herself!

I run as fast as I can down to the commons area.

The nearest satyr looks at me and says, "What the heck are you doing, Rachel?"

I grab his conch shell and blow it as loud as I can—which is very loud.

After I've mustered a small crowd, I borrow a megaphone from the Hephaestus kids. "They need help!" Three words can hold a Hades of a lot of chaos. I'm almost trampled by the result—running demigods.

When I get to the top of the hill, there are two new demigods joining us.

And…

_Can I believe it?_

Rex and Mia Raymond.

And then I faint.

When I wake up, I'm in the infirmary. Mia is standing over me. As is Drew.

"What's up?" asks Drew.

I feel my head. It hurts. "Not much," I say. "Your faces." I sit up. Spots flash before my eyes, but I ignore them.

"What are you doing here, Rachel?" asks Mia.

"Hey, Mia," I say. "I'm the…uh…fish out of water here, I guess you could say. I kinda sorta belong here, but not really."

Drew rolls her eyes. "Please. We wouldn't know where Percy is without you."

"You'd get there eventually…even if I hadn't replaced that stinking mummy," I say. I still have nightmares about that thing.

"Wait, what?" asks Mia.

"Nothing," I say. "Nothing at all. So are they demigods, Drew?"

She shrugs. "There's something different about them."

_No, duh,_ I think. Even for a daughter of Aphrodite, Drew can be kind of stupid.

"I mean…Mia seems…" Drew seems to be having trouble saying it.

An image flashes across my mind. "Mortal?"

Drew nods. "But she can see through the mist, obviously."

I sigh. "I guess it's time for me to resign as Oracle." Secretly, I'm rejoicing.

That's when Hannah, one of the Apollo kids, comes in. "The new kid's been claimed."

"Well?" Drew and I say in unison.

"Nyx, god of night."

And then I know that that kid is going to make one Zeus of a watchman.


	11. Author's Note

Author's Note.

But please read.

I need some help with a character in the next chapter!

This is a little interaction here!

I need:

Age:

Hair color:

Eye color:

Interests:

Build (like body type):

What you wear:

Personality:

Other:

Thanks, and you might be in the next chapter.


	12. Annabeth Gets Half a Tour

Many thanks to Petra D, AthenaKidd, Nightkill, poppylou xx, poppy, and Random Fangirl. I now have five new characters thanks to you guys! And you are new Norse demigod characters! Woo-hoo!

I still need some more of you, though! Please help! I especially need some people who wouldn't mind being evil. Nightkill, poppy, Petra D and Random Fangirl, you will be in this, don't worry.

So…where did we leave off?

Ah, yes. Annabeth's POV:

When I look up, I see that Megan is accompanied by an old lady who smells like cookies.

"Oh, poor dear!" says the old lady.

"This is Edda," says Megan. "She's one of the six immortal caretakers here. She's my favorite."

The old woman rustles Megan's hair. "Oh, don't let Ai hear you say that."

Megan smirks. "He _can't_ hear," she whispers to me.

I nod as if I understand, but I don't. I wish I'd spent less time working on buildings I never meant to finish and more time studying different cultures—especially their gods.

"Well, can you give her a tour of our main cabins?" asks Edda.

"Sure," says Megan. "Come on, um…"

"My name's Annabeth," I say.

"Come on, Annabeth!" And she walks off at a good pace.

She takes me to a meadow where half building, half tent things stand like a little village—except the building/tent hybrids are huge. I hear Megan telling me that they call it the Yggdrasill Plain, meaning "Home Plain". There's a huge tree in the middle, and there are three houses next to it. One is so plain it nearly makes me cry. Another is run down and beat up, _Like it'll all be in the end_, I think. The third is just there. Nothing special, these three houses, but I can sense power radiating from them.

"Those are the homes of the three Norns," says Megan. She's whispering as if she doesn't want to disturb them. "Necessity, Fate, and Being." We walk around them and by a large building/tent hybrid (Megan calls them yggdrasills—and logic tells me that means, "homes"). There are such delicious smells wafting out of it that I can't stay away.

Burgers, freshly baked bread, cookies, cakes, pies, and roast beef. I walk up the steps, my nose leading me on. I open the double doors.

There's only one girl in the enormous kitchen. Her light brown hair is in a ponytail so it doesn't get in her eyes while she's baking. She's baking many things at once, that's what I can tell. She turns around and says, "Megan Jones, are you in here again? Third time today you've come in here looking for a snack!"

Megan shrugs and says, "I was hungry. And this time it's not me. It's Annabeth."

The girl scowls. "Who?"

"The girl we captured."

The girl sits down in a wooden chair. "No one ever tells me anything. I'm a half-blood, but I'm only the cook."

"No, I was going to tell you," Megan says quickly.

The girl's hand reaches out. "Bless you, Megan. Sometimes I wonder if Forseti is the only good god up there." She points up.

"Yeah." Megan looks up and then quickly moves on. "So, Lou, where's Ajax?"

I recognize the sound of her voice—so much like mine when I used to ask for Percy.

The girl, Lou, shrugs. "Darn guy runs off everywhere exactly when I need him to help with dinner…lunch…breakfast."

"I'll find him and tell him you said that," says Megan. She darts out of the kitchen and leaves me alone with Lou.

She looks at me. "So who are you?"

"I'm Annabeth," I say. "Daughter of Athena."

"Athena?" asks Lou.

"Greek goddess of wisdom and battle."

"Greek? I thought there were only Norse demigods."

"No. There's also Romans," I say.

"Greek and Roman…" says Lou. "Your mother is the goddess of wisdom?"

I nod. Didn't I just say that?

"Then I guess you'd be best friends with some of the Vor kids."

"Vor?" I ask. "Wait, don't tell me. Norse god of wisdom."

"Goddess," says Lou. "But other than that…"

"Great!" I say. "Where are they?"

"Out the door. They're doing some hunting out in the fields."

"Thank you," I say. I start out, but then Lou grabs my shoulder. "There's one you particularly want to watch out for," she says.

I nod and leave.

Wonder who she was talking about?


	13. Leo Gets a Message

Okay, guys, sorry I wasn't here the past few days, but I was visiting my relatives in San Luis Obispo. So…

See my profile! And message me if you know what my lyrics of the month are! Please? Pretty please?

But anyway, I have a bit of a problem. See the author's note and PLEASE continue to send in characters! You can do more than one, please do!

And I now have a good rival for Clarisse! Thank you, AthenaKidd. Anyway…on with Leo's POV

After Drew and I left the Leo-cave, she went off to Half-Blood Hill. She's told me that she always feels safe over there. But I see a bit of commotion going on right by Thalia's Pine. I run after her and pull two hammers out of my tool belt, and a bottle of gas. No, _flammable_ gas. Gosh. I hand her a hammer as I pass her and climb the hill.

Jason and Piper are already there, and two new campers on the other side of the man-bull thing. I'm guessing this is what they all call the Minotaur, the thing Percy defeated when he first came here. Dang, I know all the stories about Percy. Well, maybe Clarisse has her own stories to keep to herself.

But fighting the Minotaur has to take this many of us, and Percy took it with his mother dead and his best friend passed out? Dude, he's a better fighter than all of us. Well, Jason might give him a run for his money.

Jason stabs the Minotaur in his arm; I bash him in the leg (which looks like it had no effect); Clarisse is yelling at Rachel (for some strange reason); Piper's charmspeaking to make it slower; and Drew's swinging the hammer for all she's worth. Dang, she's so cute when she's a blundering idiot.

Rachel runs away, I assume—hope—that it's for help. She runs down to the commons area, but in the moment that I'm seeing where she's going, the Minotaur whacks me.

Ow.

If you've never been hit with a ten-ton thing with horns, let me tell you: don't put that on your bucket list. Just don't. If seeing the Minotaur doesn't give you a heart attack, then getting hit with it might. And if that doesn't work, trust your best friend to nick you with a sword while stabbing the thing. Because that's what Jason did.

Ow.

A huge crowd of demigods comes running up, Rachel behind them all. They overwhelm the Minotaur, and I guess Gaea must not have been in touch with Tartarus, because he doesn't come back. Rachel gets to the top of the hill, sees the newbies, and promptly collapses.

Great.

"Come on, guys!" Clarisse yells. "Come on! Look, when Piper passed out, she got _much_ better reception."

And that gets everyone moving. A few campers go ahead so Chiron knows we're coming. Drew gets a little help from a couple of people to clear the way through the crowd so Clarisse and Jason can carry her over to the Big House. And I'm left to show the two new kids around.

"Hey, guys," I say. "What are your names?"

"I'm Rex Raymond," says the boy. "My sister's Mia."

"Rex and Mia," I say. "Come on. I'll five you a tour. Questions?"

Rex and Mia both raise their hands.

"Rex?" I ask.

"Yeah," he begins, "what was that thing?"

"The Minotaur," I say. I look at the ground in alarm. "And he'll be back in five minutes." The yellow sulfur-dust is knitting itself into a monster. "Or earlier," I say. "Run!"

And we dash for our lives, ending up somehow in Bunker Nine, where Festus's head roars in welcome.

"Hey, buddy!" I say.

"Hey! Leo!" yells a voice.

And then I look over and on the video shield is…is…

OOOH! Who do you think is on the video shield?

Review! And vote on my profile page if you read _Dare or Dare_ regularly (or if you're just passing by looking for something funny).


End file.
